One thing most web site owners have little time for is…anything! Anything other than focusing on their website content and the business or service it supports and the information it provides, that is. That means that administration often suffers, as it frequently must " after all, there's only so much time in a day.
But the one factor that you should never ignore are backups. They are like insurance. You rarely need it (you hope), but when you do, you need it very badly.
Conducting regular backups – and testing them – doesn't have to be a lot of work. With a little bit of forethought and effort and they can be automated to a high degree. And, they should be tested from time to time. Even when a backup seems to have gone without a hitch, the only way to know whether it worked properly is to try to restore the data. If it can't be restored, the backup is worthless.
Even when the web hosting company provides backup service, there is still some planning involved for the site owner. Hosting companies often rely on one or both of two methods; they backup everything (called a full backup), or backup anything that has changed since the last full backup (called an incremental backup).
Of critical importance are any configuration files that have been tailored. For example, if you've changed the default installation of a software package, you want to be able to recapture or recreate those modifications without starting over. Network configuration files, modifications to ASP files, CSS style sheets, Java Script files and others fall into the same category.
If you have XML files, databases, spreadsheets or any other files that carry product, subscriber information or order history, for example, they should get special attention. They are critical to your business. Lose them and you must start over. That can have a dramatic negative effect on your site that can last quite a while.
It goes without saying that all ASP and related web site files that create visible pages should be backed up often. It isn't necessary to record every minor change, fortunately you can tailor backup software to exclude specific files or folders. Usually they're so small that it isn't worth the trouble, but in some scenarios it can add up when there are many thousands of files.
Here again, the backups are worthless if they can't be used. Even if the hosting company charges for doing so, it's important to test at least a few times a year to make sure the data can be recovered. That's especially true of database backups, which often involve special software and routines. Database files have a special structure and the information is related in certain ways that require backups be done differently.
Developing a backup strategy can be straightforward. Start simply and review your plan from time to time, adjusting it as your site changes and grows. The day will come when a hard drive fails, you get hacked, attacked by a virus, or you accidentally delete something important. When that day comes, the time you spent developing and executing a backup plan will save you days or weeks of effort and more importantly, save you from lost revenue. When you're ready to chose the best host, visit Ace Web Hosting Reviews to learn how people rated the top hosts. And if you need a new website to go along with your new web host, be sure to visit Wildfire Marketing Group!